Unfinished
by John Marros
Summary: Five years ago, Ash Ketchum left without reason, or so his friends thought. Now, a new trial will test him, and hopefully reunite him with those close to him, or will a certain roadblock stand in the way? Pearlshipping
1. Welcome to the Everlasting All-Time Low

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm not dead, just busy. This little story is a little something to hold you over, while my Goddess of the Wasteland gifts me with inspiration once again. This will be a Pokemon fic, that came about while listening to my iTunes. I will tell you right now, this was inspired by both the music, as well as many fics with a similar plotline. The Idea of Ash disappearing and the motives behind it always intrigued me, but With every story, it had a similar beginning. 'We begin on the snowy peak of Mt. Silver' or 'On a far away island away from civilization' are fine and dandy, but it's a bit overused. Ash may be hurting, but staying in isolation and doing nothing but training his Pokemon does not represent the full Ash. Any rate, I'm rambling, just enjoy the fic**

**disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Pokemon. If I did, Many of the great fics on this site would be made into mini series like Pokemon Chronicles**

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Saffron City... An urban city in the region of Kanto. Normally, the streets are littered with people. People trying to get somewhere, or trying to sell you something. The crime rate is not atrocious, nor is it serene. To sum it up, You look left, you'll see a shoplifter running out of a convenience store and if you look right, you'll see a family enjoying their day. The police have things pretty locked down in the city dubbed "The Golden City."

As said before, the streets are usually filled, except for tonight. Tonight, instead of being out, all the citizens of Saffron were either at home, or at the Saffron City MPEC. Now, you may be wondering: Why is no one out tonight? Well, the answer to that is simple: Tonight was the championship match. This wasn't a Pokemon battle either. This is far more gruesome. This match is a boxing match. In the past, boxing wasn't all that popular, what with the Pokemon League holding the title of best spectator sports. But with the league only running once every two years, people had to find another source of entertainment. Boxing was the answer. And this isn't the P1 Boxing Tournament for Pokemon. This was Human vs. Human, and tonight, was THE match of the year.

Moving over to the Saffron City MPEC, you could hear the crowd roar from three blocks away. Tonight was the night that determined whether or not Kanto's boxing champion retained his title or if it was turned over to the challenger. Inside, the stadium was packed. All twenty-five thousand tickets were sold, hours after the match was announced. On the floor was a mat that was 50'x50' and was four feet off the ground. There was a decent crowd around it as the two combatants made their way to the mat. They made their way towards opposite corners, one red, one blue. They stood in their respective corners as the MC made his way toward the center of the mat.

As the MC got to his spot, a microphone descended from the rafters. When the mic was within grabbing distance, the MC took hold of it.

"Good evening!" The MC began. "Welcome to the match we've all been waiting for. Tonight will be a match unlike any other. Tonight, our boxing champion defends his title for the first time in three year!" At that last statement, the crowd was in an uproar. The Champ had kept his title for six years, only defended it twice in his reign as champion. And tonight, he was going for a third defense. "Ladies and gentlemen" He began again. "In the red corner, I present our reigning champion! In his reign, he has taken on the monicker of 'Undisputed Champ' and has never been proven wrong. The man of the hour, the fighter with the Dynamic Punch, DOOOOOMMMIIINNOOOOOO!" The crowds reaction was the loudest chorus of screams and cheers as the fighter in the red corner removed his robe. Domino stood at whopping 6'4". His graying brown hair was in a military buzz cut. His face was slightly leather-like from years of hard work and training. He was broad shouldered, giving him an intimidating aura about him. His boxing gloves were black with red thread holding them together and the shorts he was wearing were black, with white around the waistband and single white lines going down the outer leg. The boots he wore had the same color scheme as his shorts.

As the cheers died down, the MC turned his attention to the blue corner.

"and in this corner, We find his challenger." he stated. "Not much is known about him, only that he is from the desert region of Orre. He started his climb to the top a mere three months ago and now, he is taking on our champion. Clearly a dark horse in every way. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce the 'Wrath of Realgam Arena' give a warm welcome to RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGEEE!" As his name was announced, Rage threw off his robe, revealing a young man around the age of twenty years old. He was tan, and stood about 5'11" and had a definite muscle tone to him. His hair was raven colored and stuck out everywhere and his eyes were chocolate brown. The bottom of his face was covered by a bandana depicting the maw of Groudon. His boxing gloves were cobalt blue, with Electric yellow threading. His boots and shorts shared the same color scheme, except of stripes on the outer legging and shoe, it was lightning bolts. Rage's introduction was met with mixed reactions, mostly cheers, but there were the occasional 'Kick his ass, Dom' or 'Go back to the desert, punk.'

"And now," the MC said. "Let the match begin." There were nothing but cheers when the match started. Both Rage and Domino made their way towards the center of the ring, where a ref was waiting to in a sense, 'read them their rights.'

"Alright, you know the basics." The ref said. "No kidney punches, no hits below the belt, Etc, you understand?" Both fighters nodded and proceeded to knock gloves as a sign of respect. "Alright, keep it clean." The ref stepped back as the bell sounded. As soon as they heard that bell, Rage and Domino began circling each other, looking for an opening to throw a punch. Domino, thinking this would be an easy win, went in for the hit. His fist was three inches away when Rage shifted to the left and jabbed him in the abdomen, which was blocked. This same process lasted for another good minute before, Domino went in for a head shot. The hit landed and, causing Rage to stumble back. Domino saw it as an opportunity and began a series of rapid punches to Rage's abdomen.

Rage proceeded to protect himself from the assault, but was unsuccessful and backed up. With the slew of punches thrown, Domino tired himself out momentarily, giving Rage time to retaliate. With a swift uppercut, Domino was sent into a daze, to which Rage began to repay him for his assault in kind. 'Is this guy packing iron in his gloves?' was what Domino thought as he was hit in the abdomen several times by what he knew were his opponents fists, but they felt like fifty pound barbells being thrown at him. Rage was about to throw another punch when the bell sounded, ending the first round. Both opponents returned to their respective corners to do damage assessment. As soon as Rage made it to his corner, his trainer; a man about 6' in height, black hair, dark amethyst eyes and low build, helped him to his stool. He then proceeded to pull up the underside of Rage's bandana and pull his mouth piece out. He looked over Rage and found little to no injuries.

"Damn..." was all the trainer said. "It looked like you got pounded out there, but there's no proof." Rage gave a smirk after he spat out the water he was given.

"The guy's a bit out of practice." was all Rage said in a gruff voice. His trainer nodded and put the mouth piece back into Rage's mouth.

"Remember what I said." The trainer started as he pulled Rage's bandana back to its rightful position. "If you begin to see red, don't go blue. We don't need another incident like Realgam." Rage chuckled and nodded.

"I'll try not to, Mac." The bell sounded yet again, signaling the breaks end. Both boxers returned to the center of the ring, where the ref signaled to begin. Rage pulled the first move, with a left side body jab. Domino had no time to react as the fist hit its mark.

The next several rounds had Rage ahead of the game, even scoring a knock down on Domino. Though Rage was not the over-confident type, he did underestimate his opponent. At the beginning of the semi-final round, Domino pulled all of his stops. As the bell sounded, Domino managed a knock down on Rage with a swift uppercut. As Rage hit the mat, the people in the stands got out of their seats and began to cheer. They thought the battle was won. In Rage's mind, he did not feel the will to get back to his feet. As he lied there, hearing the count off, he saw a memory. A memory of why he was in the boxing ring in the first place. A memory that made him who he was today. The ref was almost done with the count off when Rage's eyes snapped open and he began to pull himself to his feet. The ref was stunned. He had seen many a fighter fall at the hit of the champ's uppercut, but none had ever gotten back on their feet. Domino turned around to see his opponent standing.

"How are you still standing?!" Domino exclaimed. Rage didn't reply, only getting back into a fighting stance. Domino looked into his eyes and noticed they had a tinge of blue. He was slightly intimidated by this, but steeled himself and returned to the center of the ring in a fighting stance. The ref signaled the okay and they began. In the blue corner, Rages trainer, now known as Mac sensed something he was hoping wouldn't happen. 'Oh, no! I need to stop this.' Mac thought, but it was too late. Rage, taking the initiative, swung towards Domino's abdomen. The champ, still shaken that his most powerful punch failed, took the punch, unable to block out of shock. After several shots to his abdomen and torso, Domino tried and failed to block the hits, only causing more injuries.

Before Rage could deliver the finishing blow, the bell sounded. Rage didn't hear it and supplied Domino with a swift uppercut knocking him onto his back. The ref pushed Rage back to his corner, where Mac did his best to restrain is charge. The ref turned his attention to Mac and said, "If he does that again, I'm ending this match with a disqualification." The ref's words were finite, and Mac nodded.

"Don't worry," Mac started. "It won't." Mac turned his attention back to his charge. He knelt in front of him and slapped him. "Snap out of it!" Mac exclaimed. Rage settled down and was brought back to reality.

"What happened!?" Rage asked. He looked around and found himself back in his corner, when the last thing he remembered was being down on the mat.

"What happened was you pulled an illegal knock down." Rage turned to his trainer who was explaining what happened. "Do it again, you'll get disqualified." Rage nodded and began to calm himself down. He looked over to the red corner and saw his opponent broken and bleeding. Rage knew what happened, he just didn't want to believe it.

"So what's the game plan?" Rage asked. Mac looked at him with concern.

"We either finish this fight," Mac started. "Or we forfeit." Rage contemplated these choices. He didn't want to injure his opponent more than he already was, but he didn't want to back out of a challenge. In the past, he never backed down from any challenge thrown at him. The bell sounded the end of break for the last time, which was also then Rage chose option three.

"I'll pull my punches." was all he said as he made his way to the center of the ring. His opponent looked beaten and could barely stand, but yet he was going to finish this fight, no matter how beat up he was.

The ref gave the okay and they resumed their fight. After a few moments, Rage started launching soft punches. Domino was perplexed at what his opponent was doing, but he was in too much pain to explore his thoughts further. Seeing an opening, Domino launched a powerful body jab at Rage, which was not blocked. Rage was knocked back a few inches, but was still ready to fight. At this point, Rage decided to dodge his opponent's remaining attacks, tiring Domino. As he launched his next punch, Domino lost his strength and speed from exhaustion, leading his fist way off target. Rage was going to use this opportunity to deliver a swift uppercut, but Domino, a last ditch effort, launched one last powerful body jab, sending Rage into a full on curl. Satisfied with this match, Rage gladly took the last hit, which was an equally powerful uppercut. Rage was sent a good foot off of the ground and landed on his back. Rage was content. He knew he could get back up and knock out the champion, but he didn't want too much attention and it didn't seem right after the last round. So he stayed down and listened to the crowds cheers while the ref counted off. He turned to his corner to see his trainer smile and nod his head. Mac was proud of how Rage fared against the champ, and at his decision to throw the match. His victory would have not been an honest one, even though the dishonesty was unintentional.

As the ref finished the count off, the MC returned to the ring. The microphone made its way from the rafters again. He grabbed a hold of the mic and began to speak. "Unbelievable!" he exclaimed. "Ladies and gentlemen, this has to have been one of the best matches we've seen. Not only was Domino nearly knocked out from his reign, he was given what seemed to be one hell of a match." The MC continued his speech, but neither Domino, nor Rage were paying attention. Domino made his way to his corner, where his brother/trainer was waiting. As he sat down for a moment, Domino was examined by his brother, who was shocked at how much damage he had taken.

"Holy Shit!" his brother exclaimed. "by the looks of it, you look like you went toe to toe with a very angry Machamp. Domino only chuckled at his brother's comment.

"I feel like I did. Rage is definitely someone to look out for, Chess." In the other corner, Rage had made it to his stool, where he was examined by Mac.

"Well, you'll be okay in the morning." Mac said. "Just gotta work on your emotional control." Rage sighed and looked at Mac.

"I didn't mean for it to happen." Rage replied. "Three months being here and no event, yet here, one knock down, sends me blue." Mac shook his head and chuckled.

"It doesn't matter now." Mac explained. "You did the right thing throwing this match. Besides, you said you didn't want too much attention, now didn't you?" Rage nodded. When the MC declared the winner, both opponents made their way towards the center of the ring. They looked at each other for a moment before touching gloves, signifying a mutual respect for each other.

After the match, both boxers returned to their respective dressing rooms. In Rage's dressing room, he was having a discussion with Mac.

"So, what now?" Mac asked. "Now that we're done here, are you going to finish the boxing leagues in the only two remaining regions left?" Mac didn't mind his charge's outlet, but the more they went into the ring, the more attention they brought onto themselves. Rage came out of the showers, a towel wrapped around his lower half.

"No." was all he said as he made his way towards the locker, where his clothes were. "We've already gotten enough attention here in Kanto. It's time we went home." Mac sighed and asked. "So you're done?" Rage turned to Mac, revealing the rest of his face. Because of the his age and his training, the zigzag birth marks under his eyes were nearly faded away.

"yes.." Rage replied. "For now." Mac nodded.

"Very well, Rage. I'll order us a bo-" Mac was cut off by Rage.

"We're not in public." Rage said. " you can refer to me by my given name. Also, you can returned to your true form." Mac sighed and was enveloped in a bright light. When the light died down, standing in Mac's place was a large bipedal feline creature.

_ 'Thank you, Ash.'_ the creature replied. _'Being in human form for too long gives me a weird vibe.'_ Ash only chuckled at the creatures comment.

"No worries Mewtwo." he replied. "thank you for training me and posing as such in matches." Ash turned around, fully clothed and face Mewtwo.

Ash was wearing a pair of black Converse high top, and baggy blue jeans. Underneath his black hoodie, he wore a shirt depicting the outline of a face that was distorted into a creepy smile.

"As for the boat tickets," he continued. "I've already ordered them. We leave from Vermillion City tomorrow at noon." Mewtwo nodded and turned towards the door.

_ 'Do we take the door, or shall I teleport us back to our hotel room?'_ Mewtwo asked. Ash contemplated this for a moment before responding.

"We'll take the door. Most likely, reporters will assume I have a Pokemon that knows teleport and be waiting at our door." Mewtwo nodded as Ash continued. "Now the question is if you want to return to your Poke-ball, or if you want to keep walking." Mewtwo responded by transforming back into Mac.

"I'd rather walk as a human than be confined in a virtual room." Ash nodded while pulling out another bandana, this one depiction the mask of Giratina, and wrapped it around the bottom half of his face. He finished his attire by adding black sunglasses and pulling his hood over his head. He picked up a back pack and slung it over his shoulder, resulting in a mildly painful shock.

"Gah!" Ash exclaimed. Out of the back pack came a very angry yellow mouse.

"Pika!" the mouse exclaimed. It was taking a nap when it was awoken his trainers careless act.

"Sorry Pikachu." Ash apologized. "but you may want to get back in. We're walking home and you remember the last time we walked and you decided to stay out in Johto." at this statement, Pikachu sweat dropped and immediately climbed up his trainers leg and arm to jump into the back pack. Ash chuckled. "Sleep tight. We'll be back in the hotel in no time." Ash and Mac moved towards the door, getting ready for the reporters to berate them with questions. Ash sighed and smirked under his bandana.

"Let's say hi to the people." Ash said as he opened the door out of the dressing room.

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**A/N: Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed this. I planned it to be a one-shot, but my fingers just wanted to keep typing. Definitely a change from training on Mt. Silver. Also If anyone can guess where I got the idea for this first chapter, even though I made it pretty obvious will get a shout-out in the beginning of the next chapter. Now to something that tends to get on my nerves. Review... Not necessary for chapter progression, but they help me when I make a mistake. I welcome them with open arms, if they are to truly help fix any mistakes I've made. And on a final note, Mewtwo, when in his human guise will be called Mac, even by me. So, until the next round**

**Phant0m**


	2. Nothing to Say

**A/N: Okay, I'm back with another installment of Unfinished. First off, I am amazed at how many readers took an interest in this story. In the first two days, the first chapter received over 150 view. Some may not think that's impressive, but I truly didn't think many would get interested in it. Any rate, I'd like to talk about the challenge I set up at the end of the first chapter. I wasn't very surprised that none were able to figure out the inspiration of that chapter. The inspiration was a song called Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute by Coheed & Cambria. I understand that, with me only having written two stories, I have no right to set up these trivial challenges. But I just wanted to see if anyone could figure it outs. Maybe some did, but hey like I said 'new writer' had no right to set up challenges. I may set up more in the future, but their just for fun. Anyway, rambling ends here, now on to the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: I do not and will never own Pokemon. That belongs to Game Freak and the Nintendo Corporation. If I did own it, There would have been a console based MMORPG released already.**

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As soon as Rage and Mac neared the front entrance, Ash was bombarded with questions regarding both the match and his personal life. The questions ranged from 'how are you taking this loss,' and 'what are your thoughts on this match,' to 'Are you seeing anyone,' and 'is there anyone you are interested in.' Mac immediately ended most question with 'no comment,' but reporters were relentless. After the the twentieth question, Ash finally snapped.

"That's enough!" The reporters were taken aback by the boxers sudden outburst. "I will not be answering anymore question. I'm tired, sore and really have no patience to deal with such bullshit." The reporters were stunned by Rages statement. Mac on the other hand, chuckled and rolled his eyes. As Ash calmed down, he said "Now if you excuse me, I'd like to return to my place of residence and sleep the rest of this night off." Ash and Mac resumed their walking, leaving several stunned reporters in their wake. They now realized why he used such a name in the ring. Even out of the ring it was evident that he was angry. Eventually, the reporters shrugged off their experience and proceeded to search for the champion for an interview.

Ten minutes after his little scene, Ash decides that needs loosen up for a moment.

"I know what you're thinking." Mac said. "That isn't the best idea at the moment." Rage cocked his head at his friend.

"And why is that?" Rage asked. Mac sighed.

"Alcohol isn't something you need." At that point, Ash's stomach growled. Over the years, Ash's appetite had fallen into normal ranges, but there were cases, like after a fight where his old appetite would return. Ash turned to find somewhere to eat. There were none.

"Dammit." muttered Ash. As they kept walking, they turned a corner to see a bar & grill called The Ring. As soon as Ash saw it, he was weird-ed out by the name, but his stomach roared when he saw the word 'grill' under the name. He turned to Mac and raised an eyebrow at him. Mac brought his head down shook it.

"Alright, but no beer, or liquor." Ash wasn't pleased by these conditions, but his stomach wasn't allowing him to argue.

"Fine, I'll get a coke." Ash said. He stepped forward, but immediately stopped when Mac said,

"It better not be lace with rum." Ash brought his head down and muttered "Dammit!" for the second time tonight, before continuing towards the grill.

They entered the grill and were greeted by a young woman at a podium.

"hello, and welcome to The Ring. Table for two?" Ash nodded. "Alright, just follow me please." As they were lead to the main dining area, Ash finally got the title. All around the area was boxing and wrestling memorabilia. Pictures, boxing gloves and everything in between. The T.V.s in the bar area were playing past boxing matches, most likely to commemorate tonight's match. The young woman lead them to a table in the far corner of the room. As they took our seats, the woman said, "Alright, just sit tight while I find y'all a server." With that, she left. The two men sat in silence until Ash decided to break it.

"Man, it's gonna feel so good to go home. I just hope the guys haven't been giving the professor a hard time." Mac only chuckled at this.

"Well, they are _your_ Pokemon. The funnest thing to do in the desert is to cause a ruckus." Ash laughed at this. He knew that Mac was right about them being his Pokemon, and it's always said that Pokemon emulate the personality of their trainers. It's not to say that Ash is reckless, but he did have his moments.

As Ash finished laughing, another young woman came up to them with an order pad and pen in her hand. She was a dirty blonde with green eyes. She wore a pair of black slacks, a server's apron and a t-shirt that hugged her body.

"Hi, my name is Meri. Welcome to The Ring, where everything is sure to be a knockout. Can I get you guys anything to drink?" Ash was the first to answer.

"I'll have a coke and..." he stopped because he saw Mac give him a look that said, 'finish that order, and I'll rearrange your thought process to make you think you are little girl.' Ash gulped and decided to try something else. "and your phone number?" Meri giggled a bit before answering.

"Nice try, Casanova." she replied with a smile. "But I've got a boyfriend." Ash feigned disappointment.

"Damn, what a shame. But I guess I should have known a beautiful woman such as yourself was already taken." She laughed at that and replied,

"Stop, you're making me blush." she composed herself and repeated Ash's order. "Okay, so one coke." She turned to Mac. "And for you sir?" Without shifting his gaze, he said, "Water will be fine, thank you." Meri jotted down the two orders and said, "alright, I'll have those right out."

She left to get the drinks, like everything was normal. What she didn't know was that Mac was picking at Ash's brain. This did not go unnoticed by Ash, but he didn't want to snap a him while the server was there.

"How many times have I asked you not to do that?" Ash asked. Mac just smirked as he kept picking at Ash's brain. This went on for another minute, but Mac was interrupted by Meri bringing the drinks.

"Alright, do either of you know what you would like to eat?" Ash felt relief and quickly replied, "I'll have two cheeseburgers, a plate of nachos and an order of buffalo wings." Meri looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"And you're gonna eat all of that?" Ash simply nodded. No one may have saw it, but she sweat dropped at that order. She wrote down the order and turned to Mac and asked "and you sir?" Mac turned to her and she was immediately mesmerized by his piercing Amethyst eyes.

"I'll have a salad, no dressing." She nodded and wrote down his order as well. She stood there in a daze, looking like she was running on auto pilot. Mac knew what happened, because this happened often when they ate out. "Um, Ma'am?" was all he said as he waved his hand in front of her face. She snapped back to reality with a quick jump.

"Huh? What?" She looked around and saw that she was still at the same table. "Sorry, I'll get these orders out as soon as I can."

She left to put the orders in, Mac attempted to resume picking at Ash's brain, only to hit a brick wall of blue. Mac groaned, as he was forced out of Ash's mind.

"I told you not to pick my brain." Ash said. Even though he was a bit upset that a Pokemon was invading his brain, he was amused that he could block out the most powerful psychic type Pokemon in the world out of his mind. Mac ignored him and took a drink. Ash on the other had had a straw in his drink so he wouldn't have to remove his bandana. Sure it may sound stupid, but he could never be too careful of who was in the bar.

"May I ask why you were invading my brain?" Ash asked. He was in a better mood after literally launching Mac out of his brain. It wasn't easy, so he was proud of himself.

"I'm trying to find the trigger." Mac said. Ash raised an eyebrow at his response.

"What trigger?" Ash asked.

"The trigger of tonight's event." Mac replied. Ash was angry again. He knew that Mac was trying to help him control his aura, but there were cases where he would get tired of Mac's invasion of privacy.

'Mac, I'm trying to have a good time. We'll deal with it when we get back to Orre.' Ash thought to him. Mac felt a slight pressure when Ash projected, so he just nodded and backed off.

After a few minutes, Ash calmed down. He looked around the bar and found what he usually found after a boxing match. Boxing fans crowded the bar, mainly the actual bar area. There several customers that had varying ranges of emotion. Some were angry, some happy, some sad. In a place like this, it didn't matter where you're from, whether you were richer than Michael Jackson, or if you were poorer than hobo living behind the bar. If you liked boxing, or any other sport out there, you could find a place like this. Ash's brain was abuzz with his thinking a mile a minute. As he was thinking, he was pondering whether he should have visited his hometown while he was here. Then his mind moved over to his latest match. He pondered whether he could have won if he hadn't had an aura event.

"What are you thinking about?" Mac asked. He knew that when Ash was thinking like this, he was trying figure out things in his life.

"Do you think I could have won I hadn't gone blue tonight?" Ash asked. He had no doubt about how long he could last in the ring with a champion, but in the past two years of boxing, he had never gotten to a single championship match.

"Honestly, I think you could have knocked his lights out within the first three rounds." Mac replied. There was no hesitation in his voice, nor were his words forced. "But, now that you're going on hiatus, you can worry about other issues, like your aura training. We're just lucky you haven't formed an aura sphere while in the ring."

"Yeah, that's because of this." Ash said. He pulled down his hood and lowered his bandana just enough to reveal a small tattoo behind his right ear. It had seven circles: three of which were large and in a triangular pattern; four circles were slightly smaller, formed in the same triangular pattern, only going the opposite direction of the larger circles and the seventh circle in the center of both patterns; and in the middle of it all was an actual triangle.

"What is that?" Mac asked. He had never seen any symbol like it in his existence.

"It's a channeling mark." Ash said.

"A channeling mark?" Mac asked. "What do you mean a channeling mark?" Ash was grinning from ear to ear at his friends confusion.

"Before you found me, I competed in underground fighting rings. It was really brutal and there was no chance of you getting out unscathed." Ash explained. Mac nodded, signaling to continue. "Well, everything was fine and dandy. I got my share of battle scars, but then again, they were unavoidable. One day, I had to fight this brute of a man. His name was Al, and there were rumors that he never left his opponents alive. I was scared. Most of my fights left me bruised and cut, but never dead or near death. A few days before my match, I was approached by a man named Ryan Williams." Mac put a hand to stop Ash.

"I know this story, just get to why you have that mark on you." Mac said. Ash nodded and continued.

"Well, during my match with all, I was nearly beaten to death. That was when I had my first event. I was lying down, taking a beating when I felt something snap in me. As Al was about to deliver the finishing blow, he was blown back by an unknown force. I blacked out after that, but when I came to, Al was on the floor, his right arm was missing a few of his ribs were sticking out of his chest. I was so sickened by the sight, I ran away." Ash shuddered at that memory. "I found someone who was at the fight. He was scared out of his mind. I asked him what happened. He said that I just went berserk on Al. Apparently, I ripped his arm out of its socket and used on his chest like a baseball bat. What disturbed me the most was when he said I hit Al across the face with his arm so hard, it snapped his neck. After his explanation, I asked if there was any change to me aside from the berserk mode I was in. He said that I had a type of blue energy around me."

"Aura." Mac said. Ash nodded. It was the only time he was afraid of his aura. He hadn't dealt with it since incident at the Tree of Beginning, but apparently, his aura capacity increased due to lack of use.

"After that, I left for the Kanto Region, wearing my disguise of course," he gestured to what he was wearing. "to learn at the Tree of Beginning. I found nothing there. So I came back to Orre, and stopped fighting for a while. I stayed with the Pokemon professor in Orre while trying to find out how to control my aura. One day, I read an article about a strange temple being excavated somewhere north of Phenac City. The article had a picture of wall carving that depicted a time flower. As soon as I saw it, I hoped I could finally find something to help me control my aura. I went over to the site, and found it deserted for the night. It was the perfect opportunity to sneak in and find something. After I went in, I spent an hour searching the halls of the ancient temple, hoping to find its library. I found it. I looked through some of the ancient texts, hoping to find something, until I found a book of symbols. I felt in luck, that is, until I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see a blonde woman wearing all black as well as a satchel to her side. She asked me why I was there. I said nothing and bolted with the book I had. She ran after me, and almost caught me, but I had a minor event that increased my endurance and agility. After that, I ran out of there like a Zubat out of hell. I made it back to the lab by dawn and as soon as I hit my bed, I passed out." Mac nodded

"That still doesn't explain the mark." Mac said. He was losing his patience. True as a psychic Pokemon, he had a large amount of patience, but it was wearing thin at this moment.

"Well, I began scanning each page of the book and putting it through a translator that the computer had. It took several hours to translate it all. After that, I had report that translated every page. Each symbol had a different effect on one's aura. I was fascinated with everything that the ancient guardians did with their aura. When I came across this mark, the translated description indicated that it was used in younger students who were able to manipulate their aura, but would have sudden outputs of it. I figured I'd give it a shot. I made a photo copy of the symbol and headed to Pyrite Town. And that's where you found me." Ash finished explaining. Mac was amazed at the lengths Ash was going to control his aura.

"Well, it looks like it's starting to fail." Mac said.

"No, the ink's wearing out." Ash replied. Mac was puzzled at this statement. But before he could ask about it, Ash continued. "When ever I first got it, I didn't want it to be permanent, so I asked the tattoo artist to use temporary ink. After that, I entered the Realgam Tower boxing tournament, where I made my official debut in the ring. It definitely worked, but that jackass, Fisk somehow sent over the edge to nearly kill him. That's when I noticed the ink starting to fade the first time. So now, whenever we'd go to a new region, I'd get the tattoo renewed." Mac nodded at this. He knew that if Ash hadn't taken this precaution, there would be many dead boxers.

"But now that you're taking a break from boxing, we can begin training with your aura." Mac said. Ash nodded. He wanted to learn to channel his aura without the mark. I suggest that when we return to Orre, we go the temple and find anything that would be useful in training." Ash was happy that he wasn't getting a lecture about taking an easy route in controlling his aura. They decided to wait for their food in peace, but sometimes, peace something hard to come by.

* * *

**A/N: Well, there ya go. I know it was mostly dialogue, but all this info is important to the plot. The next chapter will take place immediately after this dialogue and there will be some action (Though not rating change action). Keep the reviews coming guys. I don't need them to continue, just to revise. And on a final note, after this chapter, I will try to post a new chapter starting this friday and posting every other fiday after that. Until the next round**

**Phant0m**


	3. The Fight

**A/N: Yet another chapter done. I apologize for my tardiness, life kept me in line and away from my keyboard. That is my excuse, and it's a true one. Any rate, I've decided, after some internal debate, that this story will end Pearlshipping. I apologized to the fans of other shippings in advance, but for some reason, Ash and Dawn in a relationship just seemed to sit well with me more than any other. I'd go into more detail, but I need to answer to a reviewer.**

**Partner555: I wouldn't say I was tired of that premise, just the attitudes towards Ash. Check out 'The Betrayed Champion' by itssupereffective. That story had a great premise as well as a legitimate betrayal intertwined to it. Yes Ash did drink in the past, which will be elaborated on. If you think Al died pretty gruesomely, you should see my brain. and yes, that concept of channeling marks just kind of came out of nowhere, and will probably create a history on the Aura Guardian, which may show up on my Deviant Art account.**

**Well, time to end my rambling and get on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not, or will ever own the Pokemon franchise. that belongs to the Nintendo Corporation and Game Freak. Also, I do not own anything based off of Claudio Sanchez's The Amory Wars.**

* * *

Ten minutes after Ash's explanation, Meri returned with a tray of food. The people who were sitting around Ash and Mac, looked at the food that was being put in front of Ash.

"Alright, here's your food." Meri said with a smile. "Is there anything else I can get you two fine gentlemen right now?" Mac and Ash looked at each other, then turned to Meri and shook their heads. "Alright, just call if you need anything." Meri left to tend to the other tables she was servicing. Ash tucked the underside of his bandana into the upper section, freeing his mouth to devour his food. He picked up a buffalo wing and sunk his teeth into its tender meat. Mac on the other hand, was playing with his food. He wasn't big on eating, but ordered something to keep up the illusion that he was human. Finally getting bored, he began eating his salad. By the time Mac was half-way through his salad, Ash was finishing off the remnants of the nacho platter he ordered. He rarely left leftovers.

"I'm surprised you don't get sick after eating so much." Mac said. In the year he has been with Ash, He could never get over how much the twenty year-old could eat. Ash finished his food, wiped his mouth and returned his bandana to its normal position.

"I know, but I can't explain why." Ash said with a chuckle.

"Could it have something to do with your aura?" Mac asked. Ash shrugged. He turned his attention to the T.V. In the bar. It was recapping tonight's fight.

"And in a stunning turn of events, Rage gets back up and goes to town on Domino." the commentator said. The scene of the fight shifts to a newsroom, where the commentator was sitting at a desk. The camera panned out to show two guests with him. The first one was a man in his late 20's with spiky brown hair, brown skin and slanted eyes. The other was a woman in her early 20's with red hair, pale skin and sea green eyes. "Now, let's turn to our guests for the night, acclaimed Pokemon Doctor, Brock Harrison and Cerulean City gym leader, Misty Waterflower." The camera zoomed in on Brock and Misty. "Thank you for coming." the commentator said.

"No problem." Brock said.

"Now, what are your views on this match?" the commentator asked.

"Well, it's safe to say that this Rage character is no pushover." Misty said. "Especially after getting up from Domino's famous 'Morphine Shot.'"

"Yeah, I'd hate to be int the ring with him." Brock said. "Arceus knows if I'd make it out alive." Ash chuckled at that comment.

"What was your reaction to Rage getting up from the champs punch?" the commentator asked.

"To be honest, it scared me." Misty replied. "I've seen the best boxers go up against Domino and the 'Morphine Shot' always knocks them out." Ash wanted to keep watching, but his train of thought was interrupted.

"You're Rage, right?" a voice said. Ash turned and saw a boy, about ten year of age next to him with a pen and pocket notebook. Ash nodded. "Can I have your autograph?" Ash shrugged.

"Sure, why not. Anything for a fan." Ash said. He held his hand out and the boy handed him the notebook and pen. "What's your name, kid?"

"Aaron." the kid said. Ash nodded and began writing in the notebook. After he signed it, he gave it back to Aaron. He had a grin from ear to ear.

"Thanks Rage. Good job tonight." Aaron said. Ash just chuckled.

"Thanks kid." Ash said. "Maybe, I'll make it that far again next season." The boy nodded.

"And maybe you'll beat him." he replied before running off. He smiled under his bandana. He remembered when he was ten and started his Pokemon journey. Hell, it almost killed him, on many occasions.

As he was reminiscing, he was approached by another person. This person, grabbed Ash's shoulder and pulled him out of his chair. Ash turned to see an angry looking man. He wore a leather jacket, a white shirt, blue jeans and black boots. Basically, he looked like a greaser. Ash could take a wild guess at why he was interrupted from his memories.

"You cost me $5,000 tonight." the man said. Ash shook his head and looked down. He was used to getting bet on, but he was never confronted about it.

"You made the bet." Ash replied. "It's not my problem." He turned to get his drink, but was turned around. The man's eyes were blood shot, his breathing was heavy. This guy was beyond angry, he was furious.

"Actually it is. You cost me money tonight, so I'm gonna pound it out of you." As the thug said that, he pulled a switchblade out of his pocket. Working on instinct, Ash socked the thug, in the jaw, knocking him down. He turned back to his seat, only to be grabbed by some guys he didn't see. They pushed him to the wall, pinning him there as their boss got back up, switchblade in hand.

"You think you're getting out of this?" the thug asked. "I control this ride and you ain't going anywhere." the blade popped, prompting Ash to struggle away from his restraints. The thug closed in on Ash, ready to thrust his knife somewhere fatal, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll advise you not to do that." He turned around to see Mac standing behind him. The thug sized him up, before chuckling.

"This ain't your concern." the thug said. Mac's eyes narrowed. He forcefully turned the thug around, landing a punch on his face. The thug fell, his face bloodied. Mac looked down at him with anger in his eyes.

"Actually, it its." Mac said. The others were too stunned to notice Ash break free from his restraints and socked both of them with two punches to the abdomen. Ash then made his way next to Mac.

"What do you think?" Ash asked. "Ten minutes.?" Mac turned to him and laughed. Ash joined in as the boss thug got back up into a fighting stance. Ash looked at him and cocked his head.

"Five minutes." Mac said. Ash nodded and turned to the bar.

"Hey, barkeep." Ash yelled. The barkeeps attention was turned to him.

"What's up?" He asked. Ash smiled under his bandana.

"You got a bell over there?" the bartender nodded. Ash got a better idea. "You got a timer back there as well?" the bartender nodded again. "Set the timer for five minutes. Ring the bell then start the time on my mark." The bartender, pulled something from under the bar, but Ash's attention was moved as the boss thug growled.

"What kind of joke are you pulling?" The thug asked. Ash turned to Mac and then back to the thug.

"Just a little proposition." Ash said. "If we beat you, in five minutes, you leave Saffron City for good." The thug chuckled.

"And if you don't?" he asked. Ash thought about a it for a moment.

"If we don't, you leave without any broken bones and with a little pocket money. $500." Ash pulled out a stack of twenty's and placed in of the table. The thug smirked.

"Easiest money I ever made." As he and his buddies got into their stances, Ash nodded to the bar and a bell sounded.

The thug made the first move, swinging at Ash. Ash dodged and slammed his fist into his opponents chest. Mac on the other hand, was assaulted by the other two, who were thinking they could gang up on him. They launched simultaneous hits at Mac's head. Mac merely smirk and ducked under their fists. As their fists missed their mark, the dim-witted duo began losing their balance. Mac took this opportunity to sweep both their legs. They both landed on tables, making them break. 'Idiots.' Mac thought as Ash was thrown at him. With his fast reaction time, Mac caught Ash and set him upright. They looked at each other then Mac turned his attention to the other two, who were getting up from their nasty fall. Ash turned his attention to his original opponent. They were both faced with a problem. They were out numbered. But they weren't out classed. As they closed in, Ash and Mac got into defensive stances. As the thug boss charged as Ash, Mac pushed him out of the way and socked the assailant in the face. Ash then turned to the other two, who were getting set for another assault, and sucker punched them in the chest. Mac had a firm grip on the boss' shoulder and started a slew of punches into the abdomen. The boss tried to block, but felt a crunch in his arm and cried out. Ash was slapping the other two silly (A/N: Think The Mask). He then knocked their heads together with an accomplished smirk on his face. Unfortunately, he didn't see Mac get thrown at him, causing him to fall, with Mac on top of him.

As Mac was getting his bearings, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He turned to see a switchblade sticking out of it. The thug boss laughed, thinking he hand won. Unfortunately for them, Mac had some hand-to-hand combat training and quickly got back up. As quickly as he got up, he pulled the switchblade out of his shoulder. He flipped the blade end into his hand and thew it at the boss. It hit him dead in the right torso, hindering his breathing. With the boss still in shock, He didn't see Mac coming at him. As soon as he was in impact distance, Mac thew a slew of hits that had many similarities to the Pokemon move, Close Combat. By the time he was done, Mac had reduced his opponent to a blooy, broken, whimpering heap. He then turned to the other two, ready to do the same to thing to them, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Ash. His glasses had been knocked off, revealing his brown eyes.

"Mac, I think they get the message." Ash said as he gestured to the other two. Mac knew Ash was right, but something inside him said to make them suffer. Ash seeing his friends internal conflict, Walked up to the other two and knocked them both out with swift, yet powerful uppercut to each of them.

As the two thugs fell to the ground the timer at the bar sounded. They had won their wager. On the outside, Ash was calm, but inside he sighed in relief. He grabbed the stack of twenty's from the table and went to bar. Mac saw the direction he was going, and grabbed his shoulder.

"What did I say?" Mac asked. Ash turned to look at him and pulled his way out of Mac's grip.

"I'm not getting a drink." Was all Ash said as he walked away from Mac and resumed towards the bar. As he got to the bar, he asked, "sorry about the damage. How much?" the bartender pulled his hand up as Ash was counting out some of the cash.

"Don't worry about it." the bartender said. "We're insured. All you have to do is pay for any drinks and food you consume. By the way, can I get you anything?" Ash shook his head

"No thanks." Ash said. "I've been off the stuff for about a year now. My friend helped me off of it and I don't want to relapse." The bartender nodded.

"I understand." he said. "I got off of the stuff about four years ago. Best of luck to you." Ash thanked him and went up to the cash register to pay for his and Mac's meal.

The left the restaurant and headed towards their hotel. When they got there, They were yet again bombarded with questions both personal and business. Mac, who was still in pain and bleeding, told them off, but his speech left the reporters in both shock and fear. Ash had a smirk on his face as they got into the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, Both Ash and Mac cracked up laughing. They would have continued, but Mac winced at the pain in his shoulder.

"Let me see this." Ash said. He pulled on the collar of Mac's shirt to see the wound he was inflicted during their fight. Ash immediately pulled a hyper potion and a clean rag. He gave the rag to Mac. "Bite down on this, 'cause what I'm about to do is going to sting like a mother fucker." Mac nodded. He folded it until it was about an inch and a half thick and put it in his mouth. Ash stuck a hypodermic needle on the nozzle of the potion and stuck it into Mac's wound. Mac screamed as he felt the medicine being injected directly into his skin. In a matter of seconds, the wound began to heal around the needle. As soon as the wound was fully healed, Ash removed to needle from Mac's skin. Mac sighed as the pain in his shoulder went away.

"What on earth was that?" Mac asked. As held up the hyper potion.

"Direct contact from a hyper potion into your wound." Ash said.

"What compelled you to do something that could have been potentially life threatening?!" Mac asked in anger. Ash stood his ground

"I've seen this stuff heal scrapes and paper cuts. I figured direct injection would heal the wound with no scar." Ash replied. "If you look at where the cut was, you will so no scarring whatsoever." Mac nodded and decided not to question it further. By the time, they finished their conversation, they were at the seventh floor.

They went into their room and began to unwind. Mac transformed back into his true form, while Ash removed his bandana and sunglasses. He then went to his bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light, with dreams filled with his journey home. Mac chuckled and rested his eyes, waiting for the morning to come.

Meanwhile in Vermillion City

At the Vermillion City Pokemon Center, several individuals were sleeping. Well, almost everyone. In one of the several bunk beds, laid a young woman with hair that was blue as a Nidoqueen's hide. She was trying to sleep, but a certain person was invading her thoughts. To her side was a small penguin Pokemon, who has been with her since the beginning of her Pokemon journey. As she laid there, holding a hat in her hands she whispered, "Where are you?" After a few moments, she finally succumbed to her tiredness and fell asleep.

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**A/N: There you have it folks. Another chapter gone. By next Friday, I will have another chapter ready to post on site. If you like this story, you can either favorite it, follow it or both. If you have something constructive to say about the story, drop me a line. Remember, I'm writing for both you and myself and I want this story to be the best it can be.**

**Until Next Round**

**Phant0m**


	4. The Other Side

**A/N: Okay, another chapter for your eye sockets. This is probably the longest chapter I've written for this story. No senseless rambling this time, just straight into the s-**

***BANG***

**Damn it Wash, I told you no target practice!**

**Wash: Fuck you!**

***sigh* Let's move on**

**Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own the Pokemon franchise. it belongs to Game Freak and the Nintendo Corporation. Also, I do not own the Amory Wars, which was used for certain character basis. **

* * *

Vermillion City

As the sun rose in the city bathed in an orange glow, many of the bird Pokemon began their crowing, signifying the morning come. Around town, fishermen, salesmen and sailors started their day by either opening their shops or getting ready for their next voyage. At the Pokemon Center, trainers from all corners of the region were beginning to stir, or get ready to continue their journey. In one of the rooms, two girls were still sleeping as the morning light beamed through their window. On the floor in a sleeping bag was a boy about the age of fourteen. He had teal hair the came down to his shoulders, but stuck out in all directions. Next to his head was a set of wire-frame glasses, which fit his face perfectly. From the top of the sleeping bag, you could see the green polo shirt he wore. While the girls were asleep, the boy had been awake since before sunrise. He laid there thinking about his next journey.

'Where am I gonna go?' he thought to himself. 'I journeyed across eighty percent of the World Pokemon League, but for some reason I can't bring myself to continue to Unova.' He was pulled out of his thoughts by a ringing coming from his bag. He reached into it, pulling out a small electronic device. He popped the top of it and a small screen appeared. The ringing stopped a picture appeared on the screen. On the screen was a man about forty years of age. He had navy blue hair and eyes that matched his hair. He wore a maroon wind breaker that black detailing. He had smile on his face as if he had good news.

"hey, Max." the man greeted. "I didn't wake you did I?" Max shook his head.

"No, I've been up for a while." Max replied. "So, what's up Dad?"

"I just wanted to see how you're doing." Max's dad replied. "Is your sister up yet?" Max turned his attention to the bed to his left, where a young brunette woman was sleeping, ignorant of the world around her. Max turned his attention back to his dad.

"No, she's being lazy as ever." Max with a smirk. He was about to say something, but was interrupted by a pillow thrown at his face. On the other end, Max's dad was laughing at the sight.

"I heard that, Max." said an angry brunette. Max removed to pillow from his face and threw it back to his sister's bed.

"Norman, who are you talking to?" a woman's voice asked in the other end of the line. Norman turned his attention to somewhere off screen.

"I'm talking to Max, honey." Norman replied. He then turned his attention back to Max. "So what are your plans now?" Max had thought about this all morning, but was not coming to a final decision.

"Honestly, I don't know." Max replied. "I come pretty far since I started my journey. Maybe I'll come home for a while. Arceus knows I miss you and Mom." it was true. Since he completed his journey in his home region of Hoenn, Max hadn't been home in nearly three years.

"That seems like a wise decision, Max." Norman replied. "By the way, Professor Birch wanted to talk to you if you decided to come home." Max nodded.

"Ok, Dad. I'll see you and Mom soon." Max said.

"Ok, son." Norman replied. "see ya later." Norman cut the call after that. Max put away the PokeNav back in his backpack. Max laid back down and enjoyed the silence.

After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. Max hadn't been expecting anyone and he was sure neither of the girls had anyone to see this morning. He got up from his sleeping bag and went to the door.

"Who is it?" Max asked.

"It's Brock." a voice said on the other side of the door. Max smiled and opened the door. In the doorway, was Brock. Instead of the suit he was wearing last night, he was wearing green collared shirt under a orange and gray vest, tan cargo pants and light blue tennis shoes.

"Hey Brock." Max said. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to stay the night in Saffron last night, so I decided to come visit you here." Brock replied. "Did you catch the fight last night?" Max shook his head and gave Brock a confused look.

"What fight?" Max asked.

"There was a boxing match last night." Brock replied. "The championship match to be more specific." Max's mouth curved into a smile. He had began following boxing about two years ago when all the battles the Battle Channel was showing were reruns. He was channel surfing when he came across a boxing match. It was the Kanto Championship Match between Domino and Igor the Vile. It was safe to say that he was fan after Domino landed a punch that became known as the 'Morphine Shot.'

"So who was the champ matched up with?" Max asked Brock. Max had followed Domino's fights after that one match.

"A guy named Rage." Brock said. Max was puzzled at the name. He had followed every boxing match this season, but he had never heard of Rage. It was like he came out of nowhere.

"I've never heard of him." Max said.

"I hadn't either, but he is one hell of a fighter." Brock replied. Max immediately went to his backpack and pulled out a laptop. After a few moments of warming up the computer, Max pulled up a search page. He looked up Rage and found a definition of the word. This didn't help Max, so he added the world 'boxer' to the search. Immediately, he was pulled to a profile page. There wasn't much, only a name, count of wins and losses and region of origin. Max was wide-eyed as he saw Rage's wins compared to losses. To say he was impressed was an understatement. Max whistled.

"That's one hell of a spread." Max said, only to have a pillow thrown at him again. He turned towards the bed his sister was in and found her sitting up, her back against the wall.

"Watch your language, Max." She said. The girl had sapphire blue eyes and creamy pale skin. Her hair fell down either side of her head, forming a bit of an upside-down V shape.

"Hey May." Brock said.

"Hey Brock." May replied. She had a smile on her face. She hadn't seen Brock since Ash disappeared. When she though back on it, she remembered how hard it was on everyone.

_Flashback: (5 years ago)_

Two weeks prior, Ash's mom had thrown a party to cheer him up from his loss at the Unova League. It was held at Prof. Oak's Ranch, and everyone was there. When he arrived, he was surprised and happy to see everyone. As the party rolled on, everyone was content and proud of Ash for making it as far as he did. Suddenly, there was a loud bang accompanied with glass shattering. Ash went to check what it was and found his mom on the floor, bleeding out from a bullet wound near her heart. He called for Prof. Oak, who was shocked to see his good friend on the floor. Ash had his hand over his mother's wound, trying to keep it from bleeding out. An ambulance had been called, but Ash and the professor feared it would not make it in time. Brock, who had followed behind the professor saw the scene and his medical training kicked in. within ten minutes, Brock had extracted the bullet, and stopped the bleeding, but Delia was still pale from blood loss. Another minute passed and the ambulance arrived and delivered Delia to the hospital.

The doctors had said that they were lucky Brock had stopped the bleeding. Had he waited longer, Delia would have surely expired. She had been put in a coma to help the healing process, as the bullet had nicked her aortic valve. She was to stay in that state for about month. Two weeks passed by, and Dawn's Mother, Johanna had suggested they spend the day in Viridian City. They had asked Ash if wanted to come along, but he just sat there silently in his room. Norman told the children to leave him be, and they left. Everyone tagged along, even Prof. Oak. By the time they had returned to Pallet Town, it was already dark. The children and their parents returned to the Ketchum residence and found if unusually quiet.

"Ash, we're home." May shouted. There was no response. She checked the time and figured he went to bed. She, along with the rest of the group decided that was for the best. The next morning, they all woke up and started getting breakfast ready. Dawn, who was concerned for her friend, decided to check on Ash. When she entered his room, she saw that he wasn't there. At first, she thought he got up early and went to Oak Ranch for the day. That is, until she heard Gary and Prof. Oak shouting downstairs.

She returned downstairs to find everyone standing around with a look of concern on their faces. Oak and Gary were panting and hunched over, like they had ran from the lab to here. Dawn put the pieces together, but still needed to know.

"What's going on?" Dawn asked. Her mom went up to her, with a sad look on her face.

"Dawn, was Ash upstairs?" Johanna asked. Dawn shook her head.

"I thought he went to the ranch." Dawn replied.

"Well, he came by the ranch," Oak spoke up. "But not this morning." Dawn had a confused look on her face.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I went to check on the Pokemon this morning, only to find Ash's missing." Oak replied. "I'm afraid that he's gone." Dawn had put the pieces together, but she didn't want to believe it. She fell to her knees and began to cry in her mother's arms. Everyone then began to cry. They knew that this was hard on him, but they didn't expect Ash to just up and leave.

_Flashback End_

After that day, the kids had begun a search for Ash. The first couple of days were phone calls to old friends. According to Liza in Charific Valley, Ash had called and requested that Charizard be sent to Pallet town. When Brock and Misty called Anthony about Ash, he stated that Ash came and picked up Primape personally and left. After that, they reached a dead end and decided to keep on searching while they traveled.

"May!" Brock shouted. May had zoned out in her memories. She jumped.

"Huh, what?" She looked to see that both Brock and Max were staring at her. "What are you staring at?" she asked.

"You were thinking about it again, weren't you?" Max asked. She could have lied and said no, but both Max and Brock knew her enough to tell when she was lying. She nodded. "Don't worry, we'll find him."She smiled and nodded again.

"Their right, you know." another voice said. Everyone turned to see a young blunette woman sitting up in her bed. Her navy blue eyes shined in the sunlight. In her hands was a red and black baseball cap. "We'll find him one day. We can't give up." everyone nodded.

"Your right Dawn." Brock said. He turned to Max. "But, it's time for me and Max to leave." Max looked up to Brock

"What, Why!?" Max exclaimed. Brock held up his right hand. And started counting down.

"...3, 2, 1." When Brock stopped counting, Dawn screamed. She realized that her hair was a mess.

"Get out, get out!" Dawn yelled. Max and Brock ran out of there like they had a Houndoom on their tails. As the door slammed shut, Brock turned to Max.

"That's why." was all brock said as he headed towards the lobby.

* * *

In Saffron City.

Mewtwo had awoken when the sounds of a car accident reached his ears. He looked around the room that had been their home for the past several days. He wouldn't miss it one single bit. His thoughts were interrupted by Ash's cellphone ringing. He quickly transformed into Mac and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Mac asked. On the other end, a male voice answered.

"Yes, is Ash Ketchum there?" the man on the other end asked.

"Who wants to know?" Mac asked. There were only a handful of people who Ash's number, but most of them knew to him as Rage.

"It's professor Krane" the man replied.

"Good morning, Krane." Mac replied. "Ash is still asleep right now. Is it important?" Krane sighed on the other end.

"Just tell him to call me via video phone as soon as possible." Krane said. Mac nodded and hung up. He turned to the sleeping creature known as Ash and attempted to wake him up. After several minutes of trying to shake him awake, Mac decided to try a 'brain invasion.'

Using his psychic powers, and entered Ash's brain. There was a bit of darkness, but then a scene formed. He was on a beach, most likely Undella Town in the Unova Region. He looked around for a few minutes and found Ash with a young woman. They were locked in a passionate kiss, which was accompanied with some petting. Mac couldn't stand the sight for very long, mostly for time constraints and cleared his throat. Ash turned to see Mac standing over him.

"Is this why you never want to wake up in morning?" Mac asked. Ash turned back the girl he was with, but she had disappeared. Immediately, Mac was thrown out of Ash's head and back into the real world. Ash jumped from his slumber to find Mac standing near the bathroom door. He was chuckling at Ash for his reaction.

"Did you have to do that?" Ash asked. "I was having a really good dream." Mac nodded.

"I could tell." he said with a smirk. Mac rarely invaded Ash's mind, but when he did, he always saw the same girl with him. He knew it was the same girl because she had long blue hair, covered by a white beanie. "So who's the girl?" Ash looked up at Mac.

"An old friend." Was all Ash said. He got up and went into the bathroom with a towel and a change of clothes.

* * *

Vermillion City

After Dawn and May finished getting ready, they found Brock and Max sitting in the Pokemon Center's cafeteria. May was wearing a variant of her Hoenn outfit, but instead of red, the shirt and bandana were ice blue. Dawn had a complete change in outfit. Instead of the white shirt under a black and pink mini dress, she wore a long-sleeved black T-shirt under a short-sleeved blue jacket, and blue jeans. Her pink boots were replaced with red and pink tennis shoes. She also replaced the beanie she wore with the cap she was holding that morning. It was a red cap with a bold black line going down the middle of the cap. In the black line was a blue half-Pokeball symbol. Both May and Dawn sat down at the table with Max and Brock. May was the first to speak.

"So what did Dad want?" May asked. Max looked up from his breakfast.

"He was just checking up on us." Max replied. "Also, I'm going home." That statement shocked everyone at the table.

"What!?" May shouted. "Why?" Max shook his head at his sister's dramatic reaction.

"It's nothing to worry about, sis." Max replied. "I've been traveling with you guys for three years straight. I decided it was time for a break." Brock nodded.

"I understand, Max." he said. "Constant traveling can be tiresome on the mind and body. I'll miss you kid." Brock gave Max a hug. After squirming out of Brock's embrace, he turned to his sister.

"So what are you gonna do, sis?" Max asked. May thought about it for a moment.

"I guess, I'll go home with you." she replied. "You're right, it has been a while since we've been home." Max nodded. He knew that the search for their friend had taken a lot of their time during their journey, but they all needed a break at some point.

"I guess I'll go home too." Dawn chimed. "I really miss my mom anyway." she had a smile on her face. It had been one of the few she had had since her friend had disappeared.

* * *

In the Alley between the Vermillion City Pokemon Center and the Deli next door

There was blinding flash in the dim light of the alley, though no one was paying attention. When the light subsided, two figures stood in its place. One of them stumbled and supported themselves on the wall to his left. The figure next to him just laughed.

"You need to work on your re-entry." the first figure said. The second shook his head.

"You should have been prepared." the other said. After a moment, the first figure was able to support his own weight. He grabbed the strap of his backpack and started to walk out into the sunlight. The first figure was a young man wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans and black Converse Hi-Tops. His face was covered by a gray and gold bandana and a pair sunglasses. The other figure was an older man, wearing gray jacket, with lilac lines going up the arms, black jeans and black trainers. His features were not hidden like his companions, revealing his jet black hair and amethyst eyes. "Now explain to me why you couldn't take this call in Saffron?"

"it's simple, Mac." the first figure said as he looked at his cellphone. "It's currently 10:45 and depending on what Krane wants to talk about, I don't want to be late for the ferry home. 'The early bird catches the worm,' right?" Mac just glared at him.

"Since when have you ever been an early bird, Ash?" Mac replied. Ash just shrugged.

"What have I told you about calling me by my given name in public?" Ash retorted. Mac cocked his head.

"My apologies, 'Rage.'" Mac replied sarcastically. Ash just shook his head and headed towards the center's entrance.

When he and Mac entered, all activities ceased. All eyes were on the duo, which made Ash shift uncomfortably. In the years of him being a Pokemon trainer, he was okay with the stares. But when he disappeared, his tolerance for the stares grew very thin. He ignored the stares and walked up to the front desk, where he was greeted by a familiar pink haired nurse.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center." the nurse said. "How may I help you?" Ash removed his backpack and set it on the desk.

"Would you mind giving my friend here a check up?" Ash asked. He unzipped the bag, revealing a sleeping Pikachu, cuddling up to a bottle of Ketchup. "We're taking 12:00 ferry headed to Orre, and I just want to make sure he's healthy." the Nurse nodded.

"I'll have him back to you in about 45 minutes." the nurse said. "Is there anything else?" Ash nodded and pulled out his cellphone.

"A colleague wanted me to video call him, but my phone doesn't have that function." Ash said. "Could you point me towards the phone room?" the nurse pointed at the hall.

"Down the hall and to you left." the nurse said. "I'll page you when your Pikachu is ready. May I have your name?" Ash nodded.

"Rage." was all Ash said. He turned towards the hallway and headed to the phone room. When he entered the room, he found only one phone occupied. He didn't get a good look at the occupant, he didn't really care. He sat down at the closest open phone and called his current Pokemon Professor. After several minutes of waiting, a picture popped up on the screen. It was a young girl about 14, with light blue hair. She smiled as she recognized him.

"Ashley!" She exclaimed. Ash sweat dropped at the nickname she had given him. "When are you coming back to the lab? Big brother is having trouble handling your Charizard." Ash just chuckled.

"I'm taking the next ship to Orre, Jovi. Also, tell Michael to leave Charizard be." Ash replied. "Anyway, could you get the professor on the phone?" Jovi nodded and left. After about five minutes, a man with shaggy brown hair, wearing a pair of wire-frame glasses, a lime green button up shirt and lab coat appeared on screen. "So what's up, Professor?" Ash asked.

"I was calling about a few things, so I'll start with a big one." Krane said. Ash leaned forward in anticipation. "how do you update the iTunes sofware?" Ash face-faulted at that question. Though he didn't show it, Ash was extremely irritated.

"That isn't important, Krane!" Ash yelled. "That could have waited until I got back to Orre." Krane laughed. After a minute of Krane's laughter, Ash started to chuckle.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't resist." Krane said. They talked about recent events, mishaps at the lab and what not, until Krane put on his serious face. "Joking aside, I wanted to discuss the upcoming Coliseum circuit this year." Ash nodded.

"What about it?" Ash asked.

"Are you going compete this year?" Krane asked. Ash shook his head

"I can't." Ash said. "Since I'm a Coliseum Master, I can't compete this year. But, since the season doesn't start for another six months, I can do what I please until then." Krane nodded. In the Coliseum circuit, you need to obtain four coliseum cards from the several Coliseums scattered across the region. After obtaining four cards, could enter Mt. Battle and compete for the title of Coliseum Champion. Although, If you obtain all Coliseum Cards from every coliseum, even if you lose the Mt. Battle tournament, you were given the choice of becoming a Coliseum Master in the place of a current one stepping down. If one did this, they couldn't compete in the next seasons for two years.

"Right. Realgam Tower, right?" Krane asked. Ash nodded. When Ash competed in the past season, he challenged the Realgam Coliseum, the toughest coliseum on the circuit and cut through the competition like a heated blade. Because of his battling intensity, he was dubbed 'The Wrath of Realgam.' "Well, best of luck and don't slaughter your challengers." Ash laughed and nodded.

"No promises." Ash replied. "Since I'm traveling on a cruise ship, do you think you could send me a few Pokemon?" Krane nodded.

"Sure." Krane said. "Which ones?" Ash thought about it for a moment.

"Send me Charizard, Tyranitar, Garchomp and Leonidas." Ash replied. Krane nodded and left the camera's view. After about five minutes, the transfer machine booted up. The retrieval tray extended out and four Poke-balls appeared. Ash stowed them in his backpack. Krane came back into view

"Thanks Krane." Ash said "Tell Lilly I said Hi." Krane nodded.

"Can do, Ash." Krane replied. "See ya." The connection was cut and the screen went black.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, still no intense action and still no meetings. Just dialogue, a odd dream (in Mac's opinion), and a not so informative phone call. I call it an okay day. Anyways, if you like the story, you can follow it, favorite it or both. If you don't like it, please keep it to yourself. Everyone has a different cup of tea, this just may not be yours. Drop me a line if you have any suggestions about the story. I'm pretty open to anything, as long as it makes sense in the plot. One final note, I'm having trouble finding a primary antagonist for the story. I know that the story just started, but this is one detail I want ironed out for the end battle. If you could send me some ideas, them maybe I can get this story running smoothly. Next chapter will be up on the eighth of March, so be patient.**

**Until Next round,**

**Phant0m**


	5. Through Glass

**A/N: Hey guy, I'm back with another chapter of Unfinished. For those who just started reading, welcome aboard. For those who have been waiting over a month for an update, I apologize. Classes have been a bit hectic, what with doing rehearsals for three different musical ensembles, life in general and a title match with writer's block.**

**DK: This will happen often guys.**

***Bang***

**DK: Fuck!**

**Wash! No shooting DK. Any rate let's reply to reviews.**

**Partner 555: Yes, Ash went on a man hunt, which will be elaborated on later. Leonidas is someone who will appear when I finally get the hang of writing out battles.**

**Uranium 235: Thanks for the suggestions man, but I've decided to do an OC villain instead.**

**Anyhow, rambling over. On with the show.**

**Disclaimer: I do not nor will I ever own Pokemon. I also do not own the Amory Wars, which is to be referenced from time to time.**

* * *

"Paging Rage to the front desk." the nurse called over the intercom. Ash got up from the phone he was using and left the room. His conversation with Professor Krane, a scientist stationed out of the Orre region left a bit of a chuckle in his throat. When it came to his research, Krane was as serious as a Lucario on Red Bull. But when talking with friends, he was a bit of a joker and tried to lighten the mood as best he could. As he turned down the hall, he bumped into someone. The impact knocked off his sunglasses.

"Shit!" Ash exclaimed, earning him a slap on the head.

"Language man!" A woman's voice exclaimed. He turned to see who it was that scolded him, and saw someone he hadn't seen in five years. Her attire may have changed, but the long blue hair and dark blue eyes were a dead giveaway. Even though five years had passed, Ash could never get over the sheer beauty that was his old traveling companion. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"On occasion, yes," Ash replied. "And what gives you the right to strike someone you don't even know?" Dawn opened her mouth to respond, only for her to realize what she had done. "If I wanted to, I could charges pressed against you." Dawn was shaking her head frantically.

"Please don't!" She exclaimed. The look in her eyes told Ash that she was on the verge of tears. "It's just that, one of the friends I've been traveling with has a little brother, and we've been trying to keep him from using foul language, so-"Ash cut her off by raising his hand in front of him. He knelt down and picked up his glasses, placing them back on his face as he stood back up.

"It's fine," Ash said. "Truth be told, I took worse hits than that last night, so it's no big deal." Dawn sighed in relief. With the fear of gaining a criminal record out of her mind, she recomposed herself.

"I'm Dawn." Dawn said as she put her hand out in front of her. Ash took her hand in his with a firm grip and shook it up and down.

"Rage," Ash said. Suddenly, his cellphone rang. He pulled it out and saw his thirty minute warning for the cruise to Orre going off. "As much as I'd love to stay and chat with you, I've got to pick up my buddy from the front desk and head out." With that, Ash passed her, with Mac following behind.

"Wait!" Dawn said. Ash and Mac stopped and turned around. "Will I see you again?" Dawn was intrigued by her new acquaintance, but she felt like she had met him before. Ash thought about this for a moment.

"If our paths do cross again, then it is our fate to do so." Was all Ash said as he left her standing in the hallway.

As soon as they were out of the hallway, Mac gave Ash his questioning eye. Though, he couldn't see it, Ash always felt like someone was pointing a laser sight on his back when Mac gave him that look.

"What?" Ash asked.

"'If our paths do cross again, then it is out fate to do so'?" Mac quoted with a question. "Who the hell are you and who replaced you with a fortune cookie?" Ash just shrugged.

"I just said something that sounded mystical. I highly doubt we'll see each other again." He said. Mac then shifted his facial expression from questioning to thinking.

"Come to think of it, she did look familiar." Mac mused. Ash wasn't paying attention. His focus was to get to the ship and get back to Orre as soon as possible. As he approached the front desk, Ash stopped. Mac, not noticing his friend stop, was halted by Ash's arm. "What the he-"

"Shh." Ash said. In front of them was a familiar sight. Down on one knee, holding the nurse's hand was Brock, who was attempting yet again to woo the nurse.

"Why are we standing here, watching this man court the nurse?" Mac asked. Ash didn't respond, only putting his hand up to count down.

"...2, 1, move over." Ash said. Both Ash and Mac shifted the opposite direction as the other. As if on cue, a teenager and a red-headed woman sprinted over to Brock. The duo were less than a yard away, when a blue bipedal frog-like Pokemon jabbed a purple-glowing hand into Brock's kidney area. The Pokemon doctor keeled over in pain trying to understand what he had done to deserve this kind of treatment. Before he hit the ground, Brock's ears were taken hold by the two who were running towards him.

"You never learn, do you?" Misty Asked.

"Cro," Croagunk replied, shaking his head. He would know. During Brock's time in medical school, Croagunk saved many female doctors, nurses and medical interns from Brock's cheesy advances. The blue Pokemon raised his head up when he heard someone stifle a laugh. After a moment of looking about, his eyes fell upon Ash, who was trying his hardest not to laugh at the scene that unfolded before him. Croagunk shuddered a bit, getting the feeling he was going to cross paths with the at-the-moment stranger again someday.

"C'mon Croagunk," Misty said. "The sooner we get Brock on his feet, the sooner I can relay the information I got from the league to him." With the combined strength of two people pulling his ears a the Toxic Mouth Pokemon tugging on his hair, Brock was pulled away from the front desk with ease.

As soon as the group dragging Brock away were out of earshot, Ash released the laughter he had been holding back. Mac only wore a smirk on his usually serious face.

"Is it bad that I feel sorry for him?" Mac asked. Ash turned to him, glasses removed to wipe a tear from his eye.

"Not really.' Ash replied. "In the four years that I traveled with Brock, I never fully understood what he was doing. But now, after being away for five years I found that little triple-play that just unfolded pretty damn funny." Mac shrugged.

"Fair enough." Ash replaced his glasses on his face and turned back towards the front desk. "Shall we pick up your companion?" Ash nodded and the two men (or rather, one man and one Pokemon in disguise,) walked towards the front desk. The pink-haired nurse greeted them with a smile.

"You paged me?" Ash asked. The nurse nodded in reply, turning her attention to the computer to her left. From behind, a Chansey rolled a gurney in from the back room. On it was Pikachu, who was munching on an apple, happy as a Clampearl.

"Your Pikachu is perfectly healthy," The nurse said with a smile. "Now, all I need to do is verify your trainer's insurance and you're free to go." Ash nodded an pulled his cellphone out. On the side, under the power button was a button with a star icon on it. Ash pressed it, making his cellphone make a ping sound. The screen flickered and changed from the phone's home screen to a screen similar to a computer start-up screen. Displayed in a THX logo font were the characters P DA. When the UI was loaded up, Ash handed the device to the nurse, who then slid into the computer's Dex slot. When Ash's info came up on the computer screen, Nurse Joy's expression shifted from cheery to shock in less than a second. "Goodness, I didn't know I was tending to the Pokemon of a Coliseum Master. What are you doing here in Kanto?" Ash shrugged.

"It's the off-season, so I decided to try a different outlet." Ash said "Besides, there are talks of the WPL allowing the Orre League into their ranks, but until then, we can really do what ever we want during the off-season." Joy nodded and handed Ash his phone and backpack. Before Ash could sling the bag over his shoulder, Pikachu jumped into it to take a nap.

"Have a nice day." Joy said. Ash nodded and was about to put his phone in his pocket when the P DA OS rang, indicating an E-mail. Ash was concerned with this, as he only obtained emails from his P DA when it involved the League. He opened his inbox and found a message from his boss, the champion. Ash clicked the message and was greeted with three words and a name:

Stay in Kanto.

-Wes

This almost set off another one of Ash's aura fueled episodes. Mac sensed this and immediately delved into Ash's mind and found the trigger. Using his psychic powers, Mac suppressed Ash's anger and rage before it became too out of hand. Back in reality, Ash was calmed down enough to think rationally.

"What did the message say?" Mac asked. Ash turned to Mac.

"Something that made me very, very angry." Ash said. With a swift hand, he changed the phone's OS back to Andoid and made a call, stomping into the hallway in the process. After several minutes someone answered.

"this is Mt. Battle, how may I help you?" a female voice said.

"I need to speak to the champion." Ash said.

"The champion is a very busy man and doesn't take pers-" was all the receptionist got out when Ash interrupted her.

"This is Coliseum Master Rage. Master Code, RT56135963." Ash said. This definitely got her attention, as Ash could hear things shuffling in a frantic fashion.

"One moment,sir." the receptionist replied. On the other end of the line, call-waiting music started playing. As Ash was waiting, he spotted Dawn again, this time surrounded by Brock, Misty, Max and May. Dawn waved at him and Ash only shrugged. In his mind, he wanted to just embrace her. But that would probably creep her out. On the other end of the phone, the music had stopped.

"What's up Ash?" a female voice asked. Ash's attention was brought back by her question.

"Where the hell is Wes?" Ash asked.

"He's taking a nap." the girl said.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Rui!" Ash yelled. "I just got an email from him five minutes ago." Ash wasn't in any mood to be civil at the moment and ignored May's rant about his language in front of his brother.

"For the last time Sis," Max said. "I'm fifteen, I'm not a little kid anymore." May then turned to her brother.

"That's not the point Max," May said. "You shouldn't have to use that kind of language in the first place." Back on the phone Ash was starting to calm down.

"Fine, I'll stay in Kanto for this 'meeting'." Ash said in surrender.

"Thank you Ash," Rui said. "You don't know how much this means to me and Wes."

"Yeah, yeah," Ash replied. "Just make sure he doesn't work himself to the ground again." With that, Ash ended the call and turned to his old friends. They were all looking at him like he had committed murder.

"What?!" Ash asked.

"Dude, calm down," Brock said. "I know your name is Rage, but you don't project it."

"You'd be a little pissed too if you wanted to go home and had to stay somewhere on orders from your boss." Ash said.

"Wait," Misty said. "I thought you were a boxer."

"Part time," Ash said "My real profession is Pokemon training." This got Max's attention real quick.

"No way!" Max exclaimed. "what kind of Pokemon do you have? What's your training style? Why haven't I hear-" Max was immediately shut up by May, who put her hand over his mouth.

"Sorry about my brother," May said. "He's a bit of a chatter-box when it comes to Pokemon." Ash nodded.

"I bet," Ash said. He then turned to Mac. "let's head out." Mac nodded and the two turned back toward the lobby.

* * *

**A/N: There you have it. Now, for anyone who had read my other story 'Carry On', I was hoping to get a battle in this chapter. unfortunately, it didn't happen. I just can't get myself into the right mindset for a battle. If anyone's got some pointers, I will gladly take them in. **

**Anyway, if you like the story, you can follow it, favorite it or both. I'm not perfect, I make mistakes. if you see any, or have any suggestions for future chapters, stamp 'em on a review or in a PM if you don't want your suggestion public.**

**Until Next Round,**

**Phant0m**


	6. The Travelers

**A/N: Hey guys, yet another chapter done. some might say a bit behind schedule, but I decided to say 'Fuck the schedule,' and throw it out the window. But in all seriousness, I gave it to Wash for target practice.**

**DK: That keeps me safe for a moment.**

**yeah, not really. Anyway, review time.**

**Valheru1988: Thanks for the compliment and for telling me my stories title gave you a chuckle. In actuality, The title has a meaning other than the story isn't finished.**

**Partner 555: Yep, there will be an interesting twist at the meeting. On the note of Ash's friends not recognizing him, would you be able to recognize a childhood friend if you hadn't seen them in five years and they were standing in front of you in disguise? **

**Anyway, rambling over, on to the next round.**

***flips though law book***

**Ah, here we are.**

**Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Pokemon. simple as that.**

* * *

"So, what now?" That was what Brock uttered to break the deafening silence.

"I don't know, Brock," Misty said. "He seemed pretty angry just now."

"No Kidding?" Max asked sarcastically. "What tipped you off? The way he snapped at us, or is use of colorful language?" Max's little attitude didn't sit well with Misty, who was at the moment fuming and reaching for her mallet from Arceus knows where. (A/N: Seriously, where does she keep it?) The only thing that kept her from beating Max to a pulp was Brock's firm restraint and May beating her to the punch.

"Max!" May yelled. "There's no need for the attitude." Amazingly, Max was still conscious to respond to his lecture after a swift punch to the top of the head.

"Sorry Sis." Max replied.

"Geez, what did you do this time Max?" Asked a voice from down the hall. The whole group turned to see a young man, standing next to a Lucario. This man looked to be in his mid-twenties, his height stopping at about 5' 11" He had black hair, flat and reaching down to his shoulders. His attire consisted of a set of corrective eye-glasses, a black and gray reversible hooded zip-up sweater over a black Avenged Sevenfold band shirt, black Old Navy boot-cut jeans and a pair of black trainers.

"DK!" May yelled as she ran toward the man. When she was a good yard away, she leaped towards the man, now known as DK. He had no time to react and was slammed down to the floor, with May embracing him in a hug. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too, May," DK said. "But was that really necessary?" Her response was a peck on the lips. A smile formed on DK's face "I guess so."

"Could you two please save that for the bedroom?" Max asked. "I don't need to be traumatized today, or any other day for that matter." May looked at him with her 'shut up, Max' look and pulled DK into a full-on make-out session.

"Alright, break it up you two," Brock said. He pulled to the adults off the ground and stood them upright. He then turned to DK and pulled him into a hug that would put an Ursaring (or as DK puts it, an American Black Bear,) to shame. "How have you been Dan?" When Brock didn't receive a reply, he looked to see DK starting to turn blue. Acting quickly, he released DK, allowing him to breath and his skin color returning to its normal shade.

"Pretty... good... Brock," DK said in between breaths. After a second of regaining control of his breathing he continued talking. "And how many times have I said that you can call me DK? Everyone else does." Brock shook his head.

"No can do Dan," Brock said. "I call you by your given name so that you don't forget who you are." Brock then curved his mouth into a devious smile. "Arceus knows how crazy you are."

"Hey!" DK exclaimed. "I'm not crazy, Okay? I'm totally and completely sane."

"Claiming that you're from an alternate universe thew out 'sane' a long time ago." Misty said. DK sighed in defeat.

"Alright, I know when I'm beaten," DK said. "So is there a reason everyone is in Vermillion? I mean May, Max and Dawn I understand, but what about you Brock? Don't you have a schedule to adhere to to at the center in Pewter? And Misty, please tell me your gym isn't being watched by your very beautiful, but slightly idiotic sisters again. Remember what happened the last time you let that happen." Long story short, the gym was covered in a layer of ice so thick, it took five jackhammers and two hours to even scratch the surface. The two adults looked in different directions until Misty decided to poke him back.

"What about you?" Misty retorted. "Where the hell have you been for the last six months? By the looks of it, you were at a music festival. Either that or you've been living in a cave." DK just smirked.

"The cave one is the closest answer," he said. Everyone looked at him like they usually did: confused looks. "I'll tell ya about. But I need something to eat. Who's up for the deli next door?"

* * *

Ash and Mac had just stepped out of Vermillion City and onto Route 6. Everything was not okay at all. Ash was still fuming from the phone call, but Mac didn't know why. Sure, he could have poked at Ash's brain again, but Mac had a feeling that Ash would have something far worse than a brick wall waiting for him if he tried it. There were only a handful of times Mac had seen Ash this tense, but this one had almost triggered an aura event inside the Pokemon Center.

"So what's got you all worked up?" Mac asked. Ash turned to the Pokemon in disguise. Mac couldn't see it, but Ash was giving him a death glare.

"We've gotta stay in Kanto," Ash said. "On orders from Wes and Rui." Mac was confused by that statement.

"What does Rui have to do with it?" Mac asked. Ash pulled out his phone and switched to the PDA. He opened his in-box and showed the email to Mac.

"Rui sent it on Wes' behalf." Ash said.

_**Flashback**_

"What's up, Ash?" Rui said on the other end of the line.

"Where the hell is Wes?" Ash asked.

"He's taking a nap." Rui replied.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Rui!" Ash yelled. "I just got an email from him five minutes ago." From his end, Ash could hear Rui start to laugh. "What the hell is so fucking funny?!"

"How long have you had your PDA shut off?" Rui asked. Ash was silent for a moment as he thought about it.

"I haven't checked it in over a month." Ash replied.

"Of course you haven't." Rui said, "The truth is, I sent that email on Wes' behalf yesterday. Although, I should have figured you didn't read it since we didn't receive a call until today."

"Do you mind explaining why I need to stay in Kanto?" Ash asked. "I really hoping to return to Orre today."

"The Orre League needs you to attend a meeting." Rui said.

"What meeting?" Ash asked.

"The WPL is Inaugurating the Orre League into their ranks," Rui said. "That and they have something to say that requires our league's attention."

"And why isn't Wes going to this meeting himself?" Ash asked. "You know I hate politics."

"He's in a coma." Rui said. Ash was getting skeptical.

"You're joking, right?" Ash asked. Rui said nothing, which meant she wasn't joking. "What the hell happened?"

"He was training his Pokemon, when his Tyranitar went on a rampage," Rui started. "My guess is he learned Outrage and lost control of himself. Wes took it upon himself to calm him down, but ended up in a full body cast and slipped into a coma due to a massive concussion." Ash visibly cringed at the results.

"Okay, so why can't Wash, Diana or Mason cover it?" Ash said

"Ash, you know that you, Wash, Diana and Mason are the top four coliseum masters," Rui said. "In the main land leagues, you guys are the equivalent of the elite four. But you, Ash are the top because of you status of master of Realgam Coliseum. As per league protocol, you are the one that takes over the champion's international duties if he is incapacitated." Ash snorted.

"I knew there was a catch to being in the top four," Ash said. "Where and when is the meeting?"

"Tomorrow at 3 at the Indigo Plateau." Rui said. "If you do this, not only will it put Orre on the map, we'll be labeled as the toughest league in the world."

"Really?" Ash asked. "'Cause I thought we were already the second part." Rui chuckled a little.

"Funny Ash," Rui said. "But seriously, we need you at this meeting. Don't go boozing around."

"Mac's got that covered," Ash joked. Rui stayed silent, waiting for a positive response. Ash sighed. "Fine, I'll stay in Kanto for this 'meeting'." Ash said in surrender.

"Thank you Ash," Rui said. "You don't know how much this means to me and Wes."

"Yeah, yeah," Ash replied. "Just make sure he doesn't work himself into the ground again."

_**Flashback ends**_

"So, where to?" Mac asked.

"Pallet Town," Ash replied. "I need to pay someone a visit... actually I owe two people a visit."

"Hey! Are you a trainer?" a voice asked. Ash and Mac turned to the direction the voice came from. A good ten feet away from then was a man around the same age as Ash. He wore a purple polo shirt with matching skinny jeans, black dress shoes, a trainer's belt with three Poke-Balls attached and a black trench coat. His face was pale, like he hadn't been out of the house in a good few years, which complimented his beady black eyes. He had his dark green hair slicked back, but it looked so sloppily done, it looked like bed head.

"What's it to ya?" Ash replied. The man's mouth curled into an arrogant grin.

"Twenty bucks says I can beat you in a one-on-one match," the man said. Ash turned to Mac, hoping he knew what to do. Mac shrugged, making Ash face-fault and turn back to the arrogant man.

"Deal," Ash said. He slowly removed his backpack and set it on the ground.

"Who's that Pokemon, Assbag?" the man said before laughing like a mad man. Ash ignored him and unzipped the main pocket.

"Pikachu, to the ring!" Ash called. Not a second after his command, a yellow blur jumped out of the bag and stood ready for battle.

"you expect to beat me with a cat's play thing?" the man asked. Ash said nothing, his face unreadable due to his sunglasses and bandana. "Very well. Scrafty, give them a laugh." the man threw a Poke-Ball and released the bipedal orange Pokemon known as Scafty.

"Pikachu, start things off with Quick attack." Ash said. Pikachu didn't reply, only shooting off like a bullet.

"Scrafty, knock him off balance with Low Sweep." The man said. Scrafty complied and swept his leg as Pikachu was crossing him. The mouse Pokemon lost his balance, was on the verge of face-planting into the ground.

"Pikachu, evasive maneuver Delta!" Ash called. Pikachu shifted his body and rolled rather than face planting. When he felt his paws touch ground, he launched himself into the air, "Fire electro ball." Pikachu nodded and pooled his electrical reserve into his tail, which formed into a sphere.

"Pika, pika... Chu-pi!" the mouse Pokemon launched the ball at nearly point-blank range, smashing into Scrafty's face. The fighting/dark type Pokemon had the wind knocked out of him, but was not down for the count.

"Neat trick," The man said. "But we've got a trick too. Scrafty, focus blast." Scrafty didn't reply, but in his hands, a ball of energy formed, growing bigger by the second. When it was the size a basketball, Scrafty launched the blast straight at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, grand slam iron tail." Ash called. Pikachu charged it's tail until it gleamed silver and waited. When the focus blast was about two feet away, Pikachu swatted it back to it's sender.

"Scrafty, use protect." The man commanded. Scrafty stood and braced himself and took the hit. An explosion occurred upon impact, covering the Pokemon in smoke. When the smoke cleared, Scrafty was seen with a green barrier around him. "That was a close one. Scrafty, use hi jump kick." Scrafty took off running towards Pikachu. He then jumped into the air and prepared to kick.

"Pikachu, use thunderstorm." Ash ordered. Pikachu built up its electrical energy to critical mass.

"Pikachu!" the mouse yelled. All at once, Pikachu released the energy into the sky, causing the nearby clouds to accumulate and darken over the battlefield. Within seconds, several bolts of lightning shot down on the battlefield, several of them hitting Scrafty mid attack. One hit Pikachu, but was unharmed because it grounded its tail, rendering the attack useless.

With Scrafty in a daze and still in air, Pikachu dodged. With his attack missing, Scrafty flew off the field and into a tree. The Pokemon slid down the trunk and then fell on his back, revealing swirls in his eyes.

"The winner is Rage of Agate Village." Mac said. Ash knelt down to Pikachu and scratch him behind the ears.

"Good job Pi, " Ash said. "You earned a bottle of ketchup when we get home." Pikachu smiled and then returned to the backpack. Ash then shouldered it again and stepped towards the man.

"You ain't bad, man." Ash said.

"You're not so bad yourself." the man replied. He then held out a hand towards Ash. "Put 'er there." Ash shrugged and took his hand, only to receive a mild shock. The man started laughing maniacally again. Ash shook the numbness out of his hand.

"I never caught your name." Ash said. The man stopped laughing, but still had a grin on his face.

"I never thew it out," the man said. "The name's Gangster. And I've got a feeling I'll see you again someday." Ash nodded. Gangster walked past Ash and Mac and into Vermillion City.

"That one's a wild card," Mac said. Ash nodded again and turned to Mac. "Shall we walk, or do you want me to teleport us to Pallet?'

"Do you have to ask?" Ash asked rhetorically. Mac nodded and gripped Ash's shoulder.

"Brace yourself." Mac warned. In a flash of light, they were both gone.

* * *

The old gang were sitting at the deli listening to DK's story of where he was for the past six months. It was save to say they were both skeptical and impressed at the same time.

"... and then I boarded the earliest boat back to Kanto and here I am." DK finished. After he took a breath, he bit into a Pokemon worlds equivalent of a Spicy Italian sub sandwich and savored the taste. "Any questions?" May immediately raised her hand. DK turned to her and was met with a slap on the cheek.

"For six months, you've been trekking Mt. Coronet, studying ancient ruins with Cynthia in Orre and working at the Striaton City restaurant in Unova?" May asked. DK nodded, rubbing his cheek. "And it didn't occur to you to call us and tell us you're okay?" DK lowered his head in shame.

"Daniel Kellen, We've been worried sick about you," Dawn said. DK cringed. The only time they used his full name was when they were angry. He looked up to the ceiling. 'Arceus, please get me out of this.' DK thought. "We're your friends, we care about you. So the next time you decide to disappear, call us every now and again." DK nodded and bit into his sandwich. In his head, he sighed in relief.

"So what's your plan now?" Brock asked. DK washed his sandwich down with a coke he ordered.

"I'm going to Pallet Town to say hi to Sam and to check up on Delia," DK replied. "She's been like a mother to me ever since I came to Kanto. The least I can do is go and tell her I'm alive." The turned to the Lucario, who had his eyes closed. "Wanna bite, Gabe?" The Pokemon opened his eyes and took the sandwich. After a large bite, Gabe returned it to DK, who in turn took one last bite before setting it down again. DK then pulled his Pokedex out and checked the time. Shit! I'd better get going, or else I won't get to Pallet until dark." he pulled out a small wad of bills and place a twenty on the table.

"Don't think you're off the hook, Daniel." May shouted. DK stopped in front of the door, Gabriel following suit. DK turned to his friends.

"You're going back to Hoenn today, right May?" DK asked. May nodded. "Well then, how about I stop by Petalburg City next week and finally meet your parents?" This lightened up May's mood significantly.

"I'll hold you to that Daniel." May said. DK nodded and exited the Deli.

Outside, DK turned to Gabriel and held out his Poke-Ball.

"Buddy, I've gotta use Omen to get to Pallet, so I'm giving you a choice: you can fly out with me and Omen, or you can ride the trip in stasis." The Lucario thought about it for a moment, before pressing the button on his Poke-Ball and returned himself. "I thought you would." He minimized the ball and returned it to his belt, swapping it for the other Poke-Ball next to it. "Come on out, Omen!" In a flash of light, a Therian Forme Thunderus appeared. On its back was a make-shift saddle for flight passengers. "Hey man, Wanna go see Delia?" Omen nodded and lowered down. DK climbed up onto the saddle and positioned himself comfortably. "To Pallet!" With a roar, Omen took to the skies eastward towards his only home on Earth P.

* * *

**A/N: Okay,with that chapter done, maybe I can knock out writer's block for Carry On. DK's story will be told in full once I get to that point in Carry On. Any who, I hope I did okay on the Pokemon battle. If you've got any pointers, I will use them constructively. If you like the story, you can Fav it, Follow it or both. got suggestion or want to point out a mistake, slap 'em on a review or in a PM. Also if you can guess who I based Ash's opponent off of, props to ya and a shout-out in the next chapter' intro notes.**

**Until next Round,**

**Phant0m**


	7. Authors note

Okay, this is gonna be hard for me to say, but it's gotta be said. I apologize for not updating in a while, but I can explain.

The summer semester started a few weeks ago, so I've been studying a little more.

I got a job recently, so that has hindered updates quite a bit.

Does this mean I'm stopping production on 'Unfinished' and 'Carry On'? The answer is no. In fact, I plan on making them longer (more book like chapter [15-20 page minimum per chapter]). That means more detail in the previous chapters as well as more insight on the characters themselves. Now, I'm not going to do what a lot of writers do: delete the story and then re-post it. I'm grateful for all the readers who have taken an interest in my stories. What will happen is I will replace the current chapters with the new chapters and eventually, this authors note with an actual chapter. Until then, I ask that you patiently wait (if anyone is still waiting) for the next chapters.

Until next round,

Phant0m


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